Plaguing SG1
by XedwardismyromeoX
Summary: When SG-1 travels to a planet, they can't refuse the plea of a young boy to help his family. Will this compassionate decision lead to disaster for the team?
1. Exposure

**Disclaimer: I don't know if you actually have to write one of these things, but everyone else seems to so I figured I should probably write one- I do not own anything to do with Stargate etc. (as much as I would like to, alas, it is not so)**

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SG-1 walked through the gate into the centre of an almost deserted marketplace. It was reminiscent of medieval London, but there was an almost eerie absence of people. The only creatures visible in the market were a couple of stray cats and dogs rummaging through piles of rubbish, and an abundance of rats scurrying in every direction. The market stalls that lined the edges of the square were boarded up, and some were falling into disrepair. The few people visible scurried along the walls of the plaza, travelling as fast as they could without running. Some of the people were watching the newcomers as they stepped down from the plinth the gate stood on, but they quickly resumed their business and scuttled away.

Instinctively, SG-1 moved closer together, their hands resting on their various preferred weapons.

'You've gotta love the welcoming party' Jack muttered, observing the now completely empty square. 'Daniel, any idea what the problem is?'

'I can't really tell…it might be some type of religious or cultural event, but those few people we saw looked…' Daniel struggled to find the right word.

'Unsettled,' Teal'c finished for him as he observed a person almost enter the square who, upon sighting the team, swiftly turned tail and scampered away. 'It is possible that they are being oppressed against their will.' Jack's hand tightened around the trigger of his P-90.

'Goa'uld?'

'I doubt it, Jack. Medieval isn't really their style, and we haven't seen any monuments or symbols to indicate that any Goa'uld has ever even set foot here.'

'Well, keep your eyes open anyway.'

'As always, sir.' Carter murmured as she and Jack took point.

The team started to walk down the promenade opposite them which was, again, devoid of any people. Most windows along the walls of the street were boarded up, and occasionally doors were chained and padlocked closed. The doors that were chained shut had large red crosses messily painted across them, with thin trails of paint marking where the paint had run.

'Something's not right…' Sam moved to one of the doors, examining the locks and the painted cross.

'What's the matter, Carter?'

'I've seen this somewhere before, somewhere on Earth…I can't remember where, though. I only remember it was related to something dangerous…'

A delicate shudder ran down Sam's spine, and she suddenly felt the need to be away from the marked door. She hastily returned to the centre of the street with her team, and they continued down the path. They had only gone a couple of meters, though, when a small boy raced out of an alleyway to their right. He wore ragged clothes, and by the looks of him, hadn't had a bath in months. His hair was matted and oily and he kept scratching it; he obviously had lice. He spied the team, and quickly approached them.

'Please, can you help me?' he desperately begged, tugging forcefully on Sam's hand. Instinctively she drew back her hand, but immediately regretted doing so. The boy could tell she was offended by his lack of hygiene, and made to leave them alone, mumbling an apology as he went.

'Wait,' she called after him, and he turned back to her with a look of hope, 'what do you need help with?'

'My father, miss, he's sick. I don't know what to do, and my ma's already sick and my father was caring for her, but now he's sick too and I…I…I need help' the boy seemed close to tears, and looked up at Sam with imploring eyes. She turned to Jack, who looked torn.

'Sir, we have to help.'

'Carter…'

'Sir, most likely its something that we have on Earth that has a common cure, but they haven't been able to cure here yet. If I don't recognise the illness when I get there, I'll leave immediately…' Jack deliberated internally for a moment, before gesturing down the alleyway.

'Be careful, Carter.'

The boy's face lit up, and he began to lead the team down the alley. It was very narrow, forcing the team to follow the child in single-file. They finally reached a door that, like many of its surrounding neighbours, was marked with the red cross. The only difference between this house and its neighbours was that the chains and padlock were nowhere to be seen. The boy pushed the door open, gesturing eagerly for the team to follow him. With Sam leading the way, they cautiously entered the house.

The room they walked into was cramped and small, made even more so by the appearance of four additional adults to what it normally held. Roughly hewn furniture was scattered around the room, and in one corner a makeshift bed of straw and clothes was piled messily. Atop the pile was a man in his late twenties, who did not appear to be conscious. Beside him was who Sam guessed to be his wife, who seemed even more lifeless than the man. The little boy had immediately moved to the bed of straw when he entered the house, seating himself between his parents. Sam hastily unclipped her P-90 and rested it on the kitchen table, and then slowly approached the small family on the straw.

Snapping on a pair of latex gloves, Sam approached the woman first, and gently took her wrist and searched for a pulse. When she could not find one there, she quickly checked the woman's neck before concluding that she was no longer alive. She looked up at Jack, subtly shaking her head, attempting to not have the child see. By the expression on the boy's face, she guessed he didn't, but the small nod she received in return from her CO confirmed that he understood. Sam then moved on to the father, moving around to be beside him.

She noticed he was sweating profusely, and as she neared him he let out a loud and sickening cough. She knelt down beside the man, and was about to take his pulse when his eyes shot open. His hand grabbed her wrist with surprising strength, his expression deadly serious.

'You need to leave, now!' he rasped, staring straight into her eyes.

'Wh…What?'

'You need to get out! Save yourself, while you still can!' The three men of SG-1 immediately became more alert, holding their weapons tightly and observing the scene with sharp eyes.

'I don't understand, what's the matter?' In response to Sam's question, the man slowly raised his other hand to the collar of his loose-fitting shirt. He yanked it down, exposing part of his chest and his armpit.

Sam pulled away with yelp, pushing herself as far from the man as she could get, bumping into furniture in her careless haste. Jack, Daniel and Teal'c all pointed their weapons at the man, but he had collapsed back on to the hay once more. But now that Sam had moved, they could see what had repulsed her so much. Large, purple-coloured and painful-looking buboes were protruding from the man's armpit, swelling out towards his chest. The man let out another, sickening cough, and they could all hear the liquid in his lungs. As if to join him, the small boy began to cough as well, in a sickening harmony to his father.

'Sir, we need to leave, right now!' Sam scrambled to her feet, peeling her gloves off as though they were burning her and hastily grabbing her gun off the table. The team didn't need to be told twice; they moved quickly out of the house and back into the street. Sam called an apology back towards the child as she exited, but was cut off when Jack firmly slammed the door after her.

'What the hell was that, Carter?'

'The plague, sir.'

'The what?'

'The plague. It's also called the black death.'

'Wait, wasn't that the thing that wiped out half of Europe in the Middle Ages?'

'Not quite half, Jack, but certainly a lot of them. It was carried by fleas on rats that were introduced from parts of Asia…' The team fell into silence for a moment, observing the large number of rats and mice scurrying along the street with mild horror, realising just how dangerous a situation they were in.

'Sir, I don't know much about it historically, but I was told in my medical training that certain varieties still don't have cures, even on earth, so we…' Jack cut her off.

'We need to get out of here?'

'As soon as possible, sir.'

Without needing any further prompting, the team hastily made for the gate, avoiding any animal life that they saw and desperately hoping that none of them had already been bitten by one of the deadly fleas. Daniel slammed the symbols into the DHD as quickly as he could, and Jack had the GDO poised in his hand, ready to send both the signal for SG-1 and the medical alert code. Teal'c stood, staff weapon raised, ready to shoot any rat that came too close, and Sam stood nervously beside the gate, waiting for it to activate and experiencing an inexplicable feeling of contamination. As soon as they had the go-ahead from the SGC, the team practically ran through the gate, back to the safety of Earth.

**So there you go, Chapter One of my very first (published) Fan Fiction!! Woot.**

**Please Rate and Review, as I will value any feedback, but try to keep it relatively nice...after all, this is a first fic and i am only a teenager, not a best-selling novelist (yet). Any plot suggestions would be nice (someone is going to catch the plague but i don't know who, yet)I'm thinking of possibly introducing some Sam/Jack relationshipness, but if anyone doesn't think that would work (for a good reason, mind, not just because you don't like the pairing) i might reconsider...hmmm not sure**

**Thanks for reading!**


	2. Precautions

**Alright everyone, here's Chapter 2! YAY!! Its a bit longer than my last one, but I got on a roll and couldn't stop writing! Don't you love it when that happens??**

**Anywho, thanks for the reviews all people who took the effort to do so, and I hope that I answered any questions (I've kinda tried to cover up the flaw _sammie77_, _not a zatarc_ and _Marzipan77_ picked up on in my first chapter. If you have no idea what i'm talking about, have a look at my reviews. And while you're there, maybe you could review too :)?? HINT HINT) **

**Also, (thanks for reminding me to mention it, Marzipan77) this is set during Season 7 of Stargate, hence the presence of Janet in this chapter**

**As before, I don't own any Stargate stuff (damn). If I did, Sam and Jack would have gotten together a long time ago, and the Ori probably wouldn't exist.**

SG-1 stumbled through the gate and down the ramp, coming to a halt at the bottom of the stairs. Janet, who had obviously been summoned as soon as the technicians in the control room had received the medical signal from SG-1's GDO, looked slightly confused as she approached a team who appeared to be in perfect health. She moved towards Sam, who happened to be closest to her, but came to an abrupt halt when her friend hastily backed away to the base of the ramp.

'You probably don't wanna come too close, Doc, General' Jack called across the gateroom, backing up and joining Sam at the base of the ramp in an attempt to increase the gap between him and General Hammond, who had just entered the gateroom with a look of confusion.

'Why not, Colonel?' Janet's voice sounded casual enough, but everyone in the room could tell she was concerned. Jack opened his mouth to respond, but Sam got there before he did.

'Whilst on the planet, we were exposed to a highly contagious and deadly disease.'

'What…'

'The Plague.'

Sam's hollow voice echoed off the stone walls of the room, and Janet visibly and unintentionally flinched. She quickly recovered, though, and began barking orders for a quarantine area to be set up and for bio-hazard suits to be brought to the gateroom. Anyone who was in the gateroom when SG-1 returned to Earth was ordered to stay there, and SG-1 themselves were restricted to the gate ramp, in an attempt to prevent any infected fleas that may have been carried back to Earth from spreading. Sam, who had been sitting along side her team mates, took in a sudden gasp. She proceeded to jump to her feet and climb towards the gate, promptly sitting down against the railing at the very top of the ramp. Jack turned a curious face up towards her.

'Anything the matter, Carter?' She looked glumly back down at him.

'I was in direct contact with three victims of the plague on the planet. In all likeliness, I have already contracted the disease and still have the godforsaken flea on me somewhere. There's no reason to endanger any of you further by being anywhere near you.'

'Come on, Carter. Don't be ridiculous. All you did was take their pulses; you barely touched them, and you were wearing gloves.'

'I came in physical contact with them, and the man…he coughed on me. I wasn't even a foot away from him and he coughed. If I didn't catch the disease from a flea, then I surely would have caught it when I breathed in.'

'If that's your logic, then we've all probably already been infected. We all entered the house, and by the looks of it no doors or windows had been open to ventilate the place in months. The air was probably full of bacteria, which we all would have breathed in as soon as we entered the room.'

'Come on, Sam, come back down' Daniel beckoned to a space beside him on the ramp, but Sam stayed defiantly where she was.

Within an hour, a team of doctors in bright yellow bio-hazard suits returned to the room, and began leading groups of people out of the gateroom, towards the newly set up quarantine rooms on sub-level 13. They escorted groups of four from the room, starting with those least likely to be infected. Before long, SG-1 were the only people left. They were led along the deserted corridors of the SGC, with an entourage of doctors in protective clothing. After an awkward trip in the elevator to the quarantine floor, the team was finally led into the infirmary.

They were greeted at the door by a newly-decontaminated Janet, who was now wearing a bio-hazard suit like her fellow doctors. She led them towards a group of roughly assembled chairs, next to a door that lead into a windowless room.

'Unfortunately, we've only been able to set up two areas for decontamination, so two of you are going to have to wait. Teal'c, I'd like you to come with me first seeing as you only need to be checked for fleas and not for the illness itself. I'd also like to take whoever had the most exposure to the disease…' before she could continue, Sam rose quickly to her feet. Janet paused a moment, before giving a small nod and leading her and Teal'c into the decontamination room.

Jack let out a long sigh as soon as the door closed, and Daniel ran a hand through his hair.

'This is all my fault…' Daniel murmured, leaning back in his chair.

'How is it your fault we got exposed to the Plague?' Jack questioned, his voice dripping with disbelief that the man could possibly hold himself responsible for a disease they'd known nothing about.

'I didn't mean that, I meant this,' he said, gesturing around the infirmary.

'All this quarantine and stuff…If only I had dialled a different planet, somewhere uninhabited. We could have dialled the SGC from there and had them come through and decontaminate us there, rather than making half the staff in this place go through it as well.'

'Don't worry about it; I would have done exactly the same thing as you. We were in a dangerous situation, and your first instinct was to get us home…'

'Yeah, but I bet any of the military personnel would have remembered the protocol for disease control.'

'It doesn't matter what anyone else would have done, they weren't on the planet and, after this, I doubt that any SGC personnel will ever be there again. It was such an unusual set of circumstances; I'm sure General Hammond will understand.'

'Yeah, I guess…' The conversation dwindled off into silence, each man consumed in his own thoughts and concerns about the mission. Before long, the door adjacent to the chairs opened, and an unfamiliar but friendly looking nurse poked her head out the gap.

'Gentlemen, we're ready for one of you now…' Jack gestured for Daniel to go, and after a moment's hesitation, he rose to his feet and disappeared through the door. Jack leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes and ran his hands through his hair. Although he'd never say it, Daniel was probably right. They should have gone to some uninhabited planet as got or at least to the Alpha Site, and have help brought to them. But what he'd said was also true. The idea to go anywhere but Earth had never crossed his mind, and if he as the commanding officer had never thought of it, he could hardly expect his team to think of it for him.

The door beside him opened once more, and the same nurse that had escorted Daniel minutes before poked her head out once more.

'Colonel? We're ready for you now.' Jack slowly got to his feet and walked into the decontamination room. It was divided in two by a large medical curtain, and in the area visible there was a makeshift hazmat shower, and a large bin in one corner. Neatly folded on a chair next to the shower, wrapped in protective plastic to prevent contamination before they were opened, was a set of blue scrubs, and on the floor below a pair of hospital slippers also protectively wrapped. At the nurse's direction, Jack removed all clothing and gear he had taken on the mission, and placed it in the bin, which he noticed was lined with a bag marked 'CONTAMINATED MATERIAL'. He then climbed in the shower and began cleaning himself, as directed. Once he had reached the nurse's standard of cleanliness, he was allowed out of the shower and was given a towel freshly removed from its protective plastic. Once he was dry, he pulled on the new scrubs and shoes, and was directed to take a seat. The nurse gave Jack a quick once-over for any signs of flea bites, as well as extracting some blood for testing. Finally, he was injected with a vaccine for the Plague before he was allowed to exit the room through a second door.

He came out into a large room that was divided into smaller sections by hospital curtains. In each section a typed sign was displayed, showing either the title of a SG team or a list of names for those exposed who were not in an official team. He walked past sections with groups of SF agents, of researchers, and one holding the unusual combination of General Hammond, Walter and Sergeant Siler, before coming across his own team near the back wall. He observed the scene for a split second before realising what was wrong with the picture. Daniel sat on an uncomfortable-looking plastic chair, and Teal'c was sitting on the floor meditating. But Sam was still not out of the decontamination room.

'Have you seen Carter?' Jack questioned as he slumped into a chair next to Daniel, who jolted at the unexpected sound of Jack's voice. Once he realised who it was, he sighed and shook his head.

'She hasn't been released yet. I was talking to Janet, and she said that they wanted to give her a more thorough medical examination as well as a blood test, seeing as she had the most exposure of all of us.' Jack gave a slow nod as he absorbed the information, before the team fell back into silence. They sat together for another half an hour, before they started noticing the other SGC staff in the infirmary with them were beginning to exit the room. Jack stuck an inquisitive head around the corner of their curtain, and saw a nurse working her way along the sections, dismissing teams as she went. Eventually she reached SG-1, but before she had a chance to say a word Jack cut her off.

'Where's Carter?' The nurse looked a little taken aback by Jack's abruptness, but quickly recovered herself and answered his question.

'Major Carter is still being examined by Doctor Fraiser, but she should be out soon. You three have been given clearance to leave the infirmary, as your preliminary blood tests have been cleared, but you'll need to stay on-base for at least 48 hours until you've been fully cleared.'

'Are we permitted to stay within the infirmary, awaiting the conclusion of Major Carter's medical assessment?' Teal'c rose to his feet as he asked the question, his usually stoic face tainted with concern for his team mate.

'I don't see why not. You won't have to stay down here any longer, though, you can move up to some of the chairs nearer to the examination room…' Without any further prompting, the men of SG-1 hastily made their way back towards the decontamination room to await the arrival of their forth team member.

The men of SG-1 sat, once again in silence, as they waited anxiously for the return of their only female team member. The quarantine area was deconstructed around them; curtains were pulled away and chairs were stacked beside the door to be returned to storage or the commissary, whilst beds and medical equipment were reassembled around the room so it was back in its original state. Soon the only things out of place were Jack, Daniel and Teal'c, but no one had the heart or nerve to approach them and ask them to regroup elsewhere. After an hour, though, the team was beginning to show signs of fatigue. They had not had an opportunity to properly rest or even to eat since their return from the mission, and that was not likely to happen until after they were debriefed, which could possibly take hours to be completed. Daniel was longing for a hot coffee, Teal'c was secretly wishing he could return to his quarters and kel'noreem, and Jack was yearning for his some form of entertainment, if not a Simpson's marathon, then at least his yo-yo. But none of these various desires of the team members were strong enough for them to abandon their colleague, team mate, and most importantly, their friend, so they settled in for a long night.

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**There you go, Chapter 2. Chapter 3 shouldn't take as long to put up, as I've already written at least half of it (i kinda went overboard with this chapter, so i wrote a lot of chapter 3 by accident at the same time)**

**Now, having published a story, I'm sorry to have to report a problem. You see, I believe i have developed an addiction. **

**_An addiction for Fan Fiction (hehe it rhymes)._ **

**A major component of said addiction envolves a certain act called reviewing. I have become completely addicted to reviews as well. the main point of this random writing is to say this:**

**REVIEW!! (subtle enough for you??)**

**Please please please review, even if its only a few words long, especially you people who've put this on your story alert thingy and haven't reviewed or anything!!**

**Thanks for reading!!**

**XedwardismyromeoX**


	3. Aggrevation

**Hey everyone, here's chapter 3! as promised, this one has arrived substantially faster than its predecessor, seeing as I half-wrote it whilst writing chapter 2.**

**chapter 4 is also half done, so hopefully that will be up sometime in the next week (but don't kill me if its not!)**

**again with the disclaimer: i don't own SG-1, merely the plot that i have created :)**

**AN: sorry for anyone that doesn't spell with Australian English, but by force of habit I've written everything in that format, hence the word 'jelly' replacing 'jello' **

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The door for the decontamination area slowly creaked open at around 12.30 at night, approximately four and a half hours after SG-1 had returned to Earth. The men almost jumped to their feet at the sound, and relief washed over the three of them when they saw a tired-looking but otherwise okay Sam step out into the main body of the infirmary. Jack suppressed the strong urge to embrace his second-in-command, instead turning to Janet, who had exited the decontamination room just after Sam.

'What's the verdict, Doc?' Janet, now having finished decontaminating patients, pulled the headpiece of her hazmat suit off, a small smile of relief washing over her features at the feeling of the fresh air. Her expression became serious once more, however, when she was handed a clipboard by one of the nurses bustling around the infirmary, restoring order after the calamity of decontamination. She examined its contents carefully and began to speak without taking her eyes off the information before her.

'In the early blood tests, we haven't detected signs of any of the three strains of the plague in any SGC staff-member's samples. Hopefully this, combined with the fact everyone has now been vaccinated against the illness, means we have contained the disease. But there is still a chance that someone may come down with it, and I'm sorry to say, but if anyone does, it'll probably be one of you three.' She gestured at Daniel, Jack and Sam as she spoke, 'I would include you Teal'c, but am I correct in saying your symbiote prevents the illness from affecting you?'

'Indeed.' Janet gave him a small smile, before assessing the clipboard in her hand once again, her eyes darting across the page as she absorbed the data written there.

'Recently an agent working for NCIS in Washington was exposed to a mutated form of the Pneumonic Plague, and I have been in contact with the doctors who were responsible for his care while he was ill, in particular a Doctor Donald Mallard. He has had all relevant information about the outbreak faxed to our offices, and has put a request into Bethesda Hospital for their isolation chamber to be ready for shipment here in case we require it. But, with any luck, we won't be needing it.' She glanced around at the four faces looking back at her, with a combination of apprehension and exhaustion shown in their expressions.

'It's late, and I don't think having you debriefed now would help anyone. I'll call General Hammond, and tell him that I've ordered that you all get a good night's sleep and something to eat, and ask him to reschedule your debriefing for some time tomorrow afternoon. I'd like you all to come and see me during the day before then, just for a check-up, and if everything still looks fine by then I'm pretty sure you'll all be in the clear. But, for now, I'd like you all to go straight to your quarters and get some rest; you all looked exhausted.'

'Thanks, Janet.' Sam's voice was small and strained with fatigue, and wavered slightly with suppressed emotions

'That's alright, Sam. If you need to talk, you know where to find me.' Janet gave her friend a supportive smile, before retreating to her office. There was a moment's silent pause as Janet walked away, but as soon as her door clicked closed, the three men of SG-1 turned to Sam with their concern written clearly across their faces.

'Are you okay, Sam?' Daniel placed a caring hand on Sam's shoulder, but she gently shrugged it off as she nodded.

'Yeah, for now. Can we go get something to eat? I'm starving.' The team moved as one towards the commissary, but if Sam had thought that her request for food was going to be enough to deter her friends' concerned questions, she was sadly mistaken.

'So what took so long? We were really worried out here, waiting for you…'

'We were indeed most concerned for your welfare, Major Carter.'

'The doctors just ran a few more tests on me than everyone else, that's all…'

'Just a few more? What kind of tests were they taking, for them to take so long?'

'Janet just wanted to be thorough…'

'But "thorough" doesn't take three hours. That's more like _meticulous _or_ obsessive compulsive…_' Jack's rant was cut short by a withering glare Sam threw across the hallway to him and before he could ask her another question, or even respond, Sam stalked through the commissary doors. The men slowed to a stunned stop in the hallway, and the joking smile slid off Jack's face and was replaced with an expression of confusion and concern.

'What was _that_ about?'

'I dunno, Jack, maybe she's just tired; it's been a long day.' Daniel's idea sounded fair enough, but there was an echo of uncertainty in his voice.

'I do not believe that it would be wise to push Major Carter for any more information at this time; she appears to not wish to talk about her medical examination presently…' Daniel nodded in agreement with Teal'c's statement, but Jack looked as though he hadn't heard a word of the suggestion.

'Yeah, maybe…' Jack muttered quietly as he entered the commissary, his sharp eyes noting exactly where Sam had seated herself within a couple of seconds. He hurriedly grabbed a tray and blindly picked food off the shelves in front of him before joining Sam at her table. Teal'c and Daniel followed at a slower pace, but before long they were all seated at the table, silently picking at their food. The silence extended longer and longer, becoming more and more awkward with each passing minute. Eventually Jack opened his mouth to speak, and turned enquiringly towards Sam.

'Carter, I still don't get your logic when we were in the gateroom about contaminating…' this small section of the question seemed to push Sam over the edge.

'Sir, just stop! I've had enough of your stupid questions and immature jokes! Today, any one of us could have gotten sick, or even may have died, and all you can do is poke holes in my logic and question Doctor Fraiser's medical expertise! Just, for once, can't you take things seriously?' Sam threw down her spoon in frustration, splattering blue jelly across the table. She thrust herself out of her seat and marched from the room, but not before the rest of her team could spot the glistening tears beginning to well in her eyes, nor before they could hear her let out a quiet sob. As the door swung shut after Sam, Jack swore under his breath and got to his feet, intending to follow his team mate and apologise. But he had barely risen out of his seat before Teal'c's large and strong hand grabbed his wrist.

'I believe it would be unwise to approach Major Carter when she is in such an emotional state.'

'Yeah, Jack, maybe you should wait until morning, once she's had a good night's sleep and calmed down a little…' Jack hovered for a moment, before nodding and mumbling something in agreement with his team mates. He shook off Teal'c's hand, but still stayed upright. He shoved his chair out from behind him and started walking towards the door. Daniel's confused voice rang out across the room.

'But I thought you said you weren't going to…' Jack cut him off in a sharp voice.

'I'm not. I just need to…think about some stuff. I'll see you guys in the morning.'

Without even bothering to wait for any type of response, Jack left the commissary. Stuffing his hands moodily into his pockets, he slowly made his way to the elevator and swiped his card. The doors opened moments later, letting out a distracted looking Sergeant Siler who was carrying a giant wrench. Jack looked after Siler with mild curiosity as the man made his way swiftly down the corridor, towards one of the research labs from which an ominous-looking cloud of white mist was floating down the corridor. Jack shook his head slightly at a situation he would otherwise have found quite humorous, before continuing on his own path and entering the elevator. He roughly punched in the floor and impatiently stood, waiting for the doors to open. As soon as they had opened wide enough for him to pass, Jack exited the elevator and walked quickly down the corridor. He soon reached the familiar door to his on-base quarters, and let himself in.

Locking the door behind him, Jack observed the room before him. It was still as he had left it before the ridiculous mission that had left his workplace in medical turmoil, and had caused estrangement between him and one of his team members. The area was relatively neat, but gained the appearance of being lived in by the small personal touches that decorated the walls and tables. The remote for the small television and a case for a Simpson's DVD lay on the bed, and as Jack flopped onto the stiff mattress he flicked the television on. But he had barely told the DVD to begin playing the opening credits before he gave up and turned the TV off. He flung the TV remote to the other end of the bed, cringing slightly when it smacked loudly against the wooden bed frame. Moments later the remote was forgotten, as a confused and concerned thought flooded through Jack's mind.

What the hell was wrong with Carter? The team had been through worse -much worse- than the Plague, and she had never reacted this badly. She seemed to have convinced herself that she was infected with the disease, and that she was dangerous to anyone and everyone that came near her. She had seemed to be less paranoid once she was out of decontamination, but that slightly lighter mood had disintegrated almost as soon as it had arrived, and Jack guiltily realised that it was mainly his fault that Sam had soured once again. Jack hadn't really taken too much of what she had said to heart at the time; it had seemed obvious that she was not in a good mood ever since they had left the infirmary, and Jack just happened to be the one that pushed her over the edge. Now, having reflected on what had happened, he could pick out everything that he did wrong, every single act that had pushed her buttons in all the wrong ways.

Jack let out a frustrated sigh, staring straight above him at the pale roof. He knew he needed to apologise to Sam and think of some way to make things up to her, but he just couldn't wrap his mind around the problem. Apologies had never been his thing even in the best of circumstances, and he certainly wasn't in the best state to think of a good way to make things up to his furious Major right then. Sleep deprived, slightly hungry and in desperate need for a visit to his chiropractor, he felt irritable and in no mood to think up the sincere apology that he truly wanted to make.

Feeling torn, the logical part of Jack still wanted to think about his conundrum, but the impatient, selfish section of his mind was washed with fatigue from being awake for far too long. After another moment of consideration, he decided that if he was honest with himself, thinking about the inner workings of the female mind was a bit beyond him while he was in this state. Flicking off the light beside him and flooding the room with darkness, Jack pulled the rough blankets over him and relaxed back into his pillows, forgetting about the fact he was still in the scrubs that he had been given in the infirmary, and fell into a deep sleep.

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**There you go, i hope you enjoyed it! Please don't worry Sam/Jack shippers, all will be resolved in the next chapter (kinda)...**

**Kudos to you if you got the NCIS reference!! If not, go visit your local video store, borrow some NCIS DVDs and watch the episode 'SWAK' (its some seriously good TV)**

**I'm afraid to say that, like last time, i still have this uncontrollable addiction to fan-fiction and hence any reviews i may receive (i should probably see a doctor about that...or at least, my English teacher)**

**anyway, please REVIEW!! Again, fairly blunt, but i thought it got the point across :)**

**thanks for reading!!**

**xedwardismyromeox**


	4. Seeking and Finding

**Hey all**

**sorry this took forever to put up...i kinda had a bagillion tests this week and i kinda needed to concentrate on those for a bit...but i wont bore you with my issues with food chains and parabolas, back to stargate!!**

**I've kinda forgotten to do this before, but id really like to thank anyone and everyone who has reviewed me at any time, especially people who review after every chapter!!i really appreciate any reviews i get(i love it when i open my inbox at school and see all the emails labelled 'review alert'...it makes me happy.lol)**

**as always, i don't own stargate or any of its lovely characters, just my little plot here :)**

Jack woke the next morning feeling refreshed and well-rested, but stayed where he was in bed. After careful thought for a good fifteen minutes, Jack figured out exactly what it was that he was going to say to Sam, and pushed himself out of bed with a feeling of confidence. Stripping out of the now creased medical scrubs he had received the night before and pulling on a fresh set of BDUs, Jack left his room feeling positivethat his meeting with Carter was going to go well. Taking a short trip down the elevator, Jack quickly made his way to the commissary. He wove his way through the tables and chairs towards the desserts cabinet. He pulled a large blue jelly and a cookie from its shelves, ignoring the funny looks he was receiving from the other officers in the room, who were mostly helping themselves to breakfast foods.

After gathering his 'peace offerings', Jack set out towards the most likely place that he would find Sam: her lab. After another swift trip down the elevator, Jack strolled through the astrophysics section of the research corridor, coming to a halt beside the door to Sam's lab. Taking a calming breath, he centred himself before walking confidently into the room.

'Hey, Carter, how'd you sleep…'Jack's question trailed off into silence, as he realised he was talking to an empty room. He took a quick double take, checking that the room was indeed empty, but as he had first thought, the room was devoid of any living things. Slightly disheartened by his failed first attempt at an apology, Jack started off towards the gym, thinking that to be the second most likely location to find an offended Major Carter who wanted to work off some anger. But she was not to be found there either. Slightly bemused now, he checked her quarters, but got no response when he knocked on her door. Running out of ideas of where to go, he headed towards the infirmary, planning to ask Janet if she had seen Sam since the night before. As Jack came through the doorway, Janet had barely got out a friendly greeting before she was met with Jack's blunt question.

'Have you seen Carter today?'

'Sam? No, I haven't. She paged me earlier, saying that she was planning to come and have her check-up sometime before lunch, but I haven't seen or heard from her since…is something the matter?'

'I just can't find her anywhere…we haven't been given clearance to leave the base yet, have we?'

'Not SG-1, you'll be cleared after your medical checks today if you show no symptoms.'

'Okay, thanks, Doc…' Jack called over his shoulder as he left the room, continuing on his search for his missing Major.

He had barely got a couple of meters down the hall, though, before a door to his left opened and he ran headlong into Daniel.

'Sleep well, Jack?' Daniel asked cheerily as he realised who it was that he had bumped into.

'Yeah, I guess…Have you seen Carter today?'

'Sam? No, sorry…I've been here since last night…' Daniel seemed slightly taken aback at the blunt change of subject, saying whatever first came to his mind. Jack nodded, not fully taking in what Daniel had said for a moment.

'Wait…what? Why were you here all night?' Jack looked around at where exactly they were, noticing the slightly ajar door which Daniel had come through. Peering through the gap, he saw it led into a standard military-issue bedroom that had been sparsely decorated; the only picture that really stood out was a large one of Cassie holding the puppy that Jack himself had given her when she first came to Earth. A split second after he saw the picture, realisation came flooding to him. Checking the door to the room, he saw the words CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER stamped across it in black, confirming his suspicions. He looked disbelievingly up at Daniel, who had begun to blush a bright red.

'You…and Fraiser?'

'Yeah, kinda…'

'Since when?'

'A couple of months…Shut up, Jack! You're acting like a teenager!' Daniel gently punched Jack on the shoulder, pulling an offended face as Jack's face twitched into a smirk and he let out a low chuckle. Before either of them could say anything else, they heard a pair of high-heeled shoes clicking rapidly towards them.

'Daniel, honey, did you remember to call the cleaning service to get them to change the shee…' Janet abruptly cut off and blanched as soon as she saw who was with Daniel in the hallway. Jack quirked an eyebrow in a striking imitation of Teal'c.

'Changing the sheets, are we, Doctor?' Janet blushed a deep red and looked to the floor, obviously thinking hard about some way to make it seem less suspicious.

'Yes…I…I spilled some coffee on my bed this morning! Yes, that's right. Coffee.'

'Did Daniel make it for you?'

'Yes…I mean, no! Why would Daniel be making me coffee?' Daniel walked over to Janet and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.

'It's okay, Janet, he already knows.'

'Oh,' Janet paused for a moment, processing the information before a questioning look crossed her features,

'How…'

'He kinda just caught me leaving your room…'

'Right. I thought we were going for the subtle approach..?'

'Oh, we are.'

'How is this subtle?'

'As much as I hate to interrupt this…riveting conversation, I really must continue my search. You both sure that you don't have any idea where Carter is?' When the pair shook their heads, Jack turned down the hallway, back towards the elevator. Feeling slightly peckish as he went, Jack absentmindedly began to chew on the cookie he held in his hand. Half a second later, he let out an anguished cry as he'd realised what he'd done. Staring at the biscuit that now sported a suspicious and extremely obvious bite-mark, he deliberated what to do. _Well, what she doesn't know won't hurt her…_Taking a guilty look around him, Jack quickly stuffed the rest of the cookie in his mouth. Munching loudly as he went, Jack reached the elevator and swiped his card. A few moments later, the door opened with a quiet ding, revealing Teal'c standing inside. Jack joined his friend within the elevator cart, turning to his friend as the door closed.

'T, buddy, have you seen Carter today?'

'Indeed I have not seen Major Carter since she departed our company last night in the commissary. Is something the matter, O'Neill?'

'No, nothing's wrong, I just haven't seen her today…'

'Have you checked the women's locker room?' Jack was slightly taken aback at the suggestion, but as it sunk in, he realised it probably made a fair amount of sense.

'No, I haven't made it over there yet. Thanks for the suggestion, T.'

'You are most welcome, O'Neill.' Teal'c gave a single nod, and exited the lift as the doors opened on his floor.

Jack travelled down another floor to the level that contained the locker rooms, and made his way along the corridor. He reached the door and hesitated, not sure how to continue. The floor was deserted; no SG teams were due to return that day, and no one was permitted to travel off-world due to the current medical lock down. This was both a good thing and a bad thing; no one was around to witness Jack's suspicious-looking hovering outside the women's locker room, but it also meant that no women were around for him to convince to look for Sam inside the room for him. While he was debating this inside his head, Jack thought he heard a noise break the silence. He paused in his thoughts, listening intently to see if he could hear the sound again. After another couple of moments, the noise was repeated. And, in the silence, the sound was unmistakable. The small sob resonated from within the women's locker room, muffled slightly by the firmly closed door to the room, but the distinctive sound was clearly recognisable. Jack immediately approached the door, his hand hovering above the handle.

'Carter? Is that you?' He received no response. Frustration raked Jack's body and mind; if it was Carter in there, he wanted to rip the door off its hinges and find out what was wrong, but if it wasn't, he didn't want to barge in on some poor woman he probably didn't know who was obviously going through something emotional.

'Sam? I only want to help; if it's you, can you say something?' A half second later, a muffled voice called through the door.

'Jack?' At the word, Jack threw the door open and bolted inside. Sam was sitting on the bench in the centre of the room, her head resting in her hands. She was wearing nothing but a towel, and by the appearance of her saturated skin and hair she had just got out of the shower. She was looking up at the door through her hands, her tear-stained face showing relief as she realised who it was. A moment later, modesty seemed to take over, and she instinctively wrapped her towel closer around her. Wiping at her face in a futile attempt to hide her despair, Sam slumped back forward into her hands, breathing deeply and trying to regain control. Jack approached, but stopped just in front of her, wanting to allow her some personal space.

'You okay, Carter?'

'Not really, sir.'

'Do you want to tell me what's the matter?' Sam let out a wobbly sigh, and new tears began to leak out the corners of her eyes. His overwhelming feelings of compassion outweighing his original thought to give her personal space, Jack moved over to sit beside Sam on the bench, and wrapped a consoling arm around her shoulders. Silent tears racing down her cheeks, she rested her head against his shoulder. But, almost as soon as she had relaxed into his embrace, she jolted violently out of his arms and jumped to her feet, moving as far from him as she could until her back was pressed against the harsh concrete wall.

'You…no…don't come near me…please…I don't want…' Sam spoke in broken sentences, not sure how to word her feelings, but desperately wanting to convey them. Jack rose to his feet in concern, his arms outstretched towards his second in command.

'Carter…Sam- what's wrong?'

Sam, letting out a wavering breath to calm herself, slowly raised her right arm. Jack's stomach plummeted as what he saw, and tears of sorrow and compassion pricked at his eyes. A small, but unmistakable bubo blossomed across Sam's armpit, bruising her skin a deep purple. Jack's body slackened from shock, and the blue jelly that he had been carrying all morning slipped from his fingers and smashed against the floor. As quick as lightning, Jack moved to Sam's side and pulled her into a tight embrace. He felt her try to pull away, but he only tightened his grasp.

'But you'll get sick, too!' Sam whispered, weakly beating against Jack's chest. He pressed a gentle finger against her lips.

'I wouldn't care if I could, but I'm not going to. We all got vaccinated, right? I'm safe.'

'But I…I won't be…' Sam collapsed into tears, burying her face into Jack's BDUs. Jack held her closely, rubbing a comforting hand across her back, but secretly feeling almost as much despair as the woman in his arms. Looking down into the face of his distraught Major, he had to fight to keep his composure and not join Carter in her tears. He wanted to be positive, and he wanted to be able to tell Sam that everything was going to be okay. But his mind was flooded with one question. A question that, in his internally panicked and distressed state, he could not think of an answer for.

_What are we going to do?_

**There we are, chapter 4!! i hope you like (especially those who expressed how much they liked something (eg Sam whump or Dan/Jan) and got what they liked)**

**please review**

**do you really want me to turn into one of those authors who are like 'i wont add another chapter until i have 50 more reviews'??im afraid i might have to, as my review addiction is still running strong**

**the next chapter might take a while (its not finished yet, and i need to check to make sure its scientifically accurate)**

**well, you'll hear from me sometime in the near future, and hopefully I'll hear from you sometime sooner in my reviews!! (very unsubtle hinting there)**


	5. Diagnosis

**Here we go: Chapter 5!**

**thanks everyone who reviewed, it honestly makes all the difference about whether or not i want to get writing :)**

**hopefully all the information on the plague in here is scientifically accurate, but if you are a specialised medical practicioner that notices something wrong with my information, feel free to let me know :)**

**as always, sg-1 belongs to MGM and not to me, and unless the guy who owns it decides he/she wants to adopt me, i think its gonna stay that way**

* * *

Janet had been sitting in her office, filling out one of the many forms that she was now required to submit because of the Plague outbreak. But, as she was just about to sign the bottom of at least the twentieth sheet, the door slowly creaked open revealing the smiling face of Daniel. A grin caressed Janet's face as she rose to her feet to greet her new partner, lightly kissing him as he closed the door. Flicking on the coffee machine as she went, Janet moved a pile of medical reports off a chair to free up some space for Daniel to sit. They both sat down side by side, subtly holding hands as they waited for the coffee machine to heat up.

'So…what'cha doing?' Janet looked at Daniel with a raised eyebrow at the question, a small smile on her face.

'What?' Daniel looked so innocently confused that Janet had to laugh.

'I think you've been hanging around Colonel O'Neill a bit too much.' Daniel chuckled when he realised he had used one of Jack's favourite phrases, but before he could respond in any other way, running footsteps in the infirmary caused both Daniel and Janet to look up. Getting to her feet to investigate, Janet moved towards the door, but before she got there, it was flung open by none other than Jack O'Neill.

The question on Janet's lips never had an opportunity to be spoken, because the moment Jack saw the doctor before him, he unceremoniously grasped her wrist and pulled her into the main body of the infirmary. After the frenzied look Janet shot over her shoulder, Daniel jumped to his feet and followed the pair, who were hastily crossing the infirmary.

'Colonel, what on Earth..?' Jack didn't stop, nor did he answer Janet's question. He dragged her over to the bed closest to the door, revealing a pale Major Carter sitting on the neatly made sheets, wearing a singlet top and oversized BDU pants that had the appearance of being hastily thrown on. Daniel caught up moments later, a befuddled look across his face at the sight of his team mate sitting on the bed.

Noticing the slightly distressed and subtly tearstained face of her friend, Janet immediately became concerned.

'Sam, what is going..?' Before Janet could complete her question, Sam wordlessly raised her right arm, revealing the painful bubo that blossomed there. Janet gave out a small gasp, sadness and compassion flashing in her eyes, and Daniel visibly blanched, leaning heavily against one of the seats next to the bed. A moment later, Janet had herself back under control, having pushed her emotions away to embrace the logical doctor part of her brain.

'Nurse!' Janet called at the top of her lungs, attracting the attention of three of the women milling around the infirmary.

'You!' Janet called, pointing to the woman closest to her, 'I need this room put under medical lockdown, stat! You,' she called to the next woman along 'Make contact with Doctor Donald Mallard at NCIS, tell him that we need that isolation chamber. If you can't get in touch him, make a direct call to Bethesda Hospital. You,' she pointed at the last woman, 'Call up to General Hammond's office and tell him that we have a medical situation, and that I'll make personal contact with him as soon as I have things under control. Then contact the workers in the medical shipment office on Level 6; tell them to put in an emergency order for a shipment of streptomycin, as well as a back-up shipment of gentamycin.' The woman nodded and walked swiftly towards the phone. Janet turned back to her patient and her companions, ushering them all further into the infirmary. She directed Sam to a bed at the back of the infirmary, and quickly passed her a hospital gown.

'Put this on, and get into bed.' Janet drew the medical curtains out from beside the bed, manoeuvring them so they hid the Major from view as she changed. Jack looked as though he was going to object, but visibly restrained himself. After a few moments of awkward silence, both Daniel and Jack were beginning to feel very out of place in the middle of the now bustling infirmary. They slowly migrated to the edge of Sam's curtain, waiting anxiously until she finally threw them open once again. After helping Sam to slide the curtains back into place against the wall, Jack and Daniel took a seat on either side of Sam's bed.

As soon as he had sat down, Jack grabbed the phone next to Sam's bed and dialled the number for Teal'c's quarters. Before it had even rung twice, Teal'c's deep voice responded at the other end of the line.

'Hello?'

'T, buddy, we need you down in the infirmary, now.'

'What has transpired, O'Neill?'

'Carter's got the Plague.'

There was silence for a second at the other end of the line before it suddenly died, the quiet replaced by the steady bleeping of the dial tone. Jack set the phone back down, satisfied that Teal'c was on his way.

The silence that the team fell into was border-line awkward, but before it had an opportunity to develop into something substantially more uncomfortable Janet came bustling back, a thick folder in one arm, and an extra blanket flung over the other. Setting the woollen rug down at the end of Sam's bed, she sat in the last vacant seat directly in the area, which happened to be next to Daniel. Without even noticing who she was sitting next to, Janet opened the folder, read for a moment, before looking up to Sam.

'This is all the information we had stored here in the mountain about the Plague, but we're going to have more comprehensive data sent to us, along with the specific drugs required to prevent the disease from developing. The information is detailed enough, though, for me to give you a bit of an idea what you're in for.' Janet looked down to re-read the symptoms printed on the page before her, and as she did Teal'c silently entered the room. Seeing the assembled group at the back of the infirmary, he purposefully strode to the bed, silently acknowledging the variety of greetings he received with a single nod of his head.

Janet, without bothering to look up from the sheet, began reading the information printed there aloud.

'The Plague, medically known as the bacteria Yersinia Pestis or Y-Pestis, is carried by lice, ticks and, most commonly, fleas. These insects are carried on animals such as mice, domestic animals or rats, and can transmit the disease to hosts if they are bitten by a carrier. Humans can also be infected if they come in contact with plague-infected tissue or fluids, or specifically with the Pneumonic Plague via inhalation of bacteria…but I think what we need to worry about is the Bubonic Plague, for the moment…' Janet ruffled her papers, shuffling through them, trying to find relevant information.

'Here we are…Okay; the Bubonic Plague is, luckily, the least fatal and easiest to treat. But, having said that, things are still probably going to get pretty nasty. The earliest symptoms are often the buboes, such as the one you have shown, or a fever. And…' Janet trailed off as she placed a cool hand against Sam's forehead, 'It seems that you're developing one of those as well. You'll start to develop a general feeling of weakness and illness, with side effects such as a sore throat, body aches and pains, headache and nausea. You might begin to experience delirium, and possibly a staggering gait…There are further symptoms, but hopefully the antibiotics we're having sent here will have begun to work before they kick in…'

'What if they don't work?' Sam's voice was quiet and dull, a mumbled monotone that could barely be heard, even by those closest to her.

'Pardon?'

'What if these drugs don't work? What if I've contracted a different strain of the disease, one that's mutated on the planet? What if we can't find a cure?'

'Most of the variations of the Plague can be treated with the same drug…'

'But not all of them. And whatever I've got is even more likely to be untreatable, and if they haven't even cured all the Earth-versions of this disease, how are they supposed to help me, who has a version we may not have even seen before?'

'I think you're jumping the gun a little, Carter.'

'Colonel O'Neill's right, Sam. The blood tests need at least 48 hours to be completely accurate, and until then we can't jump to any conclusions. I'll start you on a set of antibiotics, and even though they aren't the proper medicine that is most effective, it should slow the progression of the disease, and it may prevent the occurrence of some symptoms…but then again, I can't make any promises.'

'Whatever you say, Janet.'

'Sam, you need to keep positive, here. How's it going to help anyone if you're depressed? You're more likely to be able to fight this off if you actively want to, and letting yourself fall into a depression is not going to help you.' Janet's voice softened and she placed a consoling hand on top of Sam's.

'Honey, it's probably not going to be all that bad. We've got a drug that is very effective at fighting this disease, and even if it's a new strain of this infection, we'll probably find a cure for that too. Remember, we have the best of the best at our disposal here, and we've cured other diseases that we've never had any experience with before within days. Sam, you'll be fine.' A small smile flickered across Sam's face and, now satisfied that her patient wasn't on the verge of a mental breakdown, Janet returned to her information.

'Now, we'll need to get you hooked up to an IV and started on this course of antibiotics as soon as we can. Gentlemen, I don't think your presence is necessary right now, nothing's really going to progress any time soon, and it'll take some time for us to set up Sam with her drip…'

'In other words, we'll just get in the way if we stick around much longer?'

'I mightn't have put it quite like that, colonel, but yes.'

'In that case, doc, I think the boys and I will take a trip to the commissary. I hear the pie is particularly delicious today. Teal'c, Daniel, shall we?' Reluctantly Daniel got to his feet, and Teal'c slowly turned away from his bed-ridden friend. Jack gave Sam one last smile before leading his team out the door. What Sam did not realise, though, was the subtle look that Jack had thrown to Janet; a single glance that she had immediately understood to mean 'meet me outside'.

The three men had barely been in the hallway for thirty seconds when the familiar clicking of Janet's shoes followed them out into the hall.

'So what's the real verdict, Doc?' Janet threw a wary glance over her shoulder to make sure she wasn't overheard, and turned back to the men with a sombre face.

'I really don't know. The preliminary blood tests definitely indicate the Plague, but small anomalies are making me think that Sam might be right about it being a mutation of the original disease. If that's the case, then we're going to have a huge task on our hands to find a cure in time. I think Sam must've been doing her research about this, because basically everything she said in there is true and, quite frankly, likely to happen.'

'How likely is it that she'll pull through this?'

'It depends on a few things. If it's a version of the disease we've seen before, the chances are quite good, but if it's a new version of the Plague then things become a little more complicated. The main thing, though, is that we get our hands on the specific drug that is needed to treat the disease. I really should have her on it now, but it needs to be shipped from a specialised supplier in New York. Once we have that, things should become a lot easier.'

'If that's the case, I think the boys and I will go and ensure that it gets here in as little time as possible. Thanks for the information, Doc.

'Yeah, thanks, Janet.'

'We are most appreciative of your assistance, Doctor Fraiser.'

'You're all welcome. I really should get back inside…' and with one final wave, she disappeared back into the infirmary.

**I hope you liked it :)**

**i know there was a lot of medical stuff in there, but it does develop into some plot points in the future...if nothing else, take note of the symptoms, especially the delirium, staggering gait etc. (its brought up again later)**

**please please please review, it makes me happy :)**

**honestly, im hoping review karma comes around sometime soon, i review like 95% of the stories i read, so im hoping that its gonna come back to me sometime soon :)**

**xedwardismyromeox**


	6. Discoveries

**Hey all, i hope you're pumped for an EPIC CHAPTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!**

**its not as though anything overly exciting or action-y happens, it's merely an epic length for one of my stories, but it is necessary and hopefully a bit insightful to each of the characters main (at least a little)**

**thanks to everyone who reviewed, please keep it up (it makes me feel special)**

**again, i don't own any of this stargate stuff, merely my plot :)**

**happy reading**

* * *

The men of SG-1 purposefully strode down the corridor towards the elevator; the only mission in their mind was to ensure the swift recovery of their fourth team member. They pressed the unfamiliar button to take them to sub-level 6, the level that took care of shipments and the acquisition of new and specialised equipment and supplies. The three men stepped out onto the floor, attracting the curious stares of the office staff that worked there. Jack boldly approached one such office worker; a pretty young woman carrying an armful of yellow manila folders.

'Excuse me, miss, but where might we enquire about medical shipments?'

'If you follow the hall down to room 116, you'll find the office in charge of all incoming supplies for the infirmary.'

'Thanks…' Jack called over his shoulder to the girl as he strolled quickly down the hall.

'You were a great help…' Daniel flashed a smile as he passed, unknowingly making the young girl's heart flutter.

'Indeed.' Teal'c gave a solitary nod, before following his team mates down the hallway towards room 116.

Within minutes they had located the correct door and, in typical Jack style, the team leader flung the door wide open without bothering to knock. But, after observing the scene before them for a moment, each of the men had a sneaking suspicion that no one would have answered in any case. The half-dozen people that worked in the office were frantically going about their business; making flustered phone calls, typing manically at their computers or having hushed but serious conversations with one another about some apparent emergency. After a moment of standing, stunned by the unexpected bustle inside the tiny room, Jack approached the nearest worker: a woman in her late 40s with greying hair and bright red glasses perched upon her nose.

'Excuse me, miss, am I in the right area to talk to someone about medical shipments?'

'Yes, but you'll have to make it quick, sir; we have a small crisis on our hands.' The woman spoke as she frantically shuffled through a pile of papers at least a foot high, only ever making eye contact with Jack once in her haste to continue her task.

'Right, well, a friend of mine is currently undergoing treatment in the infirmary for the Plague, and we were wondering…'

'Sorry to cut you off, but that seems to be the exact object that we are having problems with down here.' After a quick glance at Jack's confused and dangerously undiplomatically inclined expression, Daniel quickly stepped in.

'How so?' At the new voice, the woman seemed to notice that the people talking to her were more than just mere office workers and, after giving the three men a very unsubtle once-over, she extracted herself from her task to talk to them properly.

'We organised a shipment of the medicine to be sent directly from New York to the mountain as soon as possible, but when it reached Washington D.C., it was stopped by…' the woman checked one of the pieces of paper on the desk beside her, 'The NID.'

Each of the three men became visibly furious, all three of them thinking immediately of one man: Maybourne. Of the three men, Jack was looking the most livid, but once again before he could verbally attack the woman before him Daniel spoke up.

'On what authority?'

'They claim to have received a tip-off about possible tampering with the drugs, in the form of illegal narcotics being smuggled in the same container.'

'So what's going to happen?'

'We're currently in negotiation with the NID, trying to convince them to release the drug, but they aren't co-operating.'

'Can't you order a new batch?'

'We already thought of that but, again, the NID are preventing us from ordering any new products. They seem to think that it will be impossible for any product to be shipped to the mountain within the next 48 hours- in case the people who attempted to smuggle the illegal narcotics try to send more drugs through the same route that they managed to infiltrate with the first package.'

'You've got to be kidding me!'

Jack stormed out of the office without so much as a thank-you or even an acknowledgement of the woman's assistance. Daniel gave an apologetic smile before running after Jack and, after a swift nod, Teal'c followed them out of the office. Daniel and Teal'c only caught up with Jack when they reached the elevator, where he was impatiently tapping his foot as he waited. The doors slowly slid open and the three men entered in silence. As soon as the doors closed, though, Jack released the restrains he'd been holding himself in. With an angry roar he kicked the wall of the elevator, scuffing its shining surface with his boot. He punched the emergency stop button, and slid down the wall of the elevator, sitting with his head in his hands on the floor. Daniel and Teal'c exchanged a concerned look, before slowly sinking to the floor beside him.

'I am going to KILL that bastard!' Jack snarled under his breath, glaring angrily at the floor beneath him.

'He is indeed a most irksome man.' Teal'c's deep voice resonated off the walls of the elevator, having an uncanny calming effect on the three men. Daniel nodded his agreement absentmindedly, his mind already desperately searching for some way around the obstacle that the NID represented. They sat in silence, each man trying to come up with some way to solve their problem.

'This is really Carter's area of expertise, this thinking up ways to save the world business…' Jack muttered under his breath. A moment after this statement sunk in, Daniel's face lit up with an idea.

'How about we go ask her, then? I'm sure she'd much rather be in the loop than kept in the dark, and she'll probably be able to come up with the best course of action…' Jack sat in silent contemplation for a moment, before nodding subduedly. Daniel turned off the emergency stop button, before hitting the number for the infirmary. As the elevator came close to their stop, the three men got to their feet and straightened out their clothes. But, just before the doors opened, Jack turned to his two companions.

'Do you mind if I go in alone? I think it might be a bit much, if we all show up expecting her to have all the answers…'

'Yeah, that's fine…How about Teal'c and I go up to my office and try to get the NID to change their minds?'

'That sounds good, I'll be down in an hour or so to check up on you guys…' The doors slid silently open, and Jack stepped out, 'See you then.' Teal'c gave a nod, and Daniel a small smile, before the doors shut, leaving Jack alone in the hallway.

Jack slowly made his way down the near-empty hallway, and automatically turned into the infirmary. He came to a halt, however, when he saw the scene before him. Just inside the door a Perspex wall had been erected, with a sensor-activated door in the middle of the wall. A nurse sat at a desk beside the doorway, with a computer and telephone before her. Jack hesitantly approached the doorway, and with an unsubtle clearing of his throat he attracted the nurse's attention.

'How can I help you?'

'Can I go inside?'

'Perhaps; what is your name?'

'Colonel Jack O'Neill…' The nurse immediately turned to the computer, typing in his name and starting the search. After a moment, a confused expression darted across her face.

'There doesn't seem to be a Jack O'Neil…'

'Two L's' Jack interrupted and, with a small smile, the woman re-entered the name. Obviously happier with this information than her previous search, she gestured to the door.

'You're cleared to enter…' But before she could finish, Jack had already walked through the door.

'Wait!' The woman frantically beckoned Jack back towards her, and he resignedly turned around to meet her at the door.

'What?'

'You'll be needing one of these.' She held out a surgical mask, which Jack gave an obviously sceptical glance.

'I'm sorry, sir, but it's a precaution we have to take; if you don't wear one you can't go in, I'm afraid.' Jack snatched the mask with an audible sigh, and snapped it hastily over his mouth, before turning his back on the woman and making his way to the back of the infirmary.

Jack made a beeline for Sam's bedside, but again came to a stop at the sight before him. Sam's bed was cordoned off by a bright yellow line painted in a large box around the area, decorated with black stripes and Hazmat symbols. But what really caught his attention was the woman he had come to talk to. Sam's bed was now surrounded by medical machinery, not all of which were familiar to Jack. He recognised the drip that was now leaking some transparent medicine down a tube connected to her arm. Subtly tucked away in a corner was a defibrillator. Sam herself somehow looked smaller and sicker than she had a mere hour ago; her skin had paled, her eyes had dulled and she wasn't moving unless completely necessary. But, to Jack's immense relief, when she noticed him hovering nearby she waved him over, with a small smile on her face.

Jack walked slowly over to Sam's bedside, only hesitating for a moment at the ominous yellow line that decorated the floor. He yanked one of the chairs from its place by the wall, repositioning it directly next to Sam, as close as he could possibly get.

'Nice mask, sir.' Her voice was soft and lacking energy, but it held the joking air that she always reserved for him.

'Is that insubordination, Major?'

'Of course not, sir.' The smile on her face widened, making her eyes glow with contained mirth.

'Well, that's the most insubordinate subordinate that I've ever heard.'

'A certain other Colonel I know once said those words to me…'

'And who would that be?'

'Maybourne, you're best mate down at the NID.' Sam had obviously intended this to be a light-hearted joke, but Jack's mood automatically blackened at the mention of the man's name. The joking smile slipped of Sam's face in an instant, replaced with a slightly perplexed look.

'Why the sudden aversion to Maybourne, sir? I mean, I know you never really got along too well…' Jack snorted.

'That's the understatement of the century.' He muttered under his breath, momentarily bringing the smile back to Sam's face as she continued to speak.

'Regardless, you've never really got that angry at the mere mention of his name before, so why the change?' Jack glanced down at Sam, and nearly lost his composure at the innocently questioning look on her face. He turned away, observing the infirmary around him, and after taking a deep breath he turned to look her straight in the eye.

'There's been a problem with shipping in you medicine, and it's all _his _fault.'

'How…?'

'The bloody _NID _conveniently found a flaw in our medical shipment system, which just happened to be discovered in the same container as your antibiotics. So now they're refusing to allow any of our medical shipments through until they've contained the threat.' Jack spat out the end of the sentence venomously, crossing his arms moodily across his chest. He heard a gasp, but to his surprise it didn't come from the woman next to him. Looking up, he saw Doctor Fraiser standing at the foot of the bed, carrying a clipboard. She had apparently walked up to discuss something with Sam, but had stopped when she heard Jack talking. She was standing stock-still where she must have come to a halt, and despite not being able to see her half her face, both Jack and Sam could tell she was deeply mortified at the news.

'Janet?' Sam's voice was soft and tentative, but it was enough to snap the doctor out of her reverie. With a subtle shake of her head, she sat down on one of the other chairs next to Sam's bed and sighed.

'Janet, what's the matter? I mean really, you said that there were dozens of different medicines for the plague, and if one wasn't acquirable, that it wasn't that big a deal…I mean, you already have me on one of them, right?'

'I'm afraid it's not quite that simple, Sam. Certain medications, such as the ones that we ordered, are very effective at eradicating the disease, so much so that you would be almost cured within 24 hours. There are about two or three different drugs that work that effectively, and after that the other medications are far less effective. Unfortunately for us, the only one that we had in stock was the least useful of the other drugs, and leaves you with a much higher mortality rate than the normally prescribed medicines. On top of that, we only have enough doses to sustain you for one day, maybe two, and after that…' Janet trailed off, her grievous expression showing just how serious the situation was. Jack and Sam sat in stunned silence for a moment as this new information was processed, before Sam's now quivering voice rang out once more.

'How does this affect my chance of survival?'

'With the medicine that we have here, you're chances were going to be not fantastic…but once that runs out, you're chances will be slim at best.'

Silence reigned once more; each person mulling over the new information. Sam, though, seemed to have taken the news the worst. Her skin had paled, and she looked on the verge of tears. But before anyone could think of a single thing to say to comfort her, the phone next to Sam's bed began to ring its shrill tone, echoing off the cement walls. Jack quickly grabbed the receiver and placed it to his ear.

'Hello?'

'Jack? It's Daniel; we just got a call from General Hammond: he wants us in the briefing room in five minutes…'

'What for?'

'The debrief for the mission, from what I gathered…'

'Tell him I can't come, I'm still talking to Carter.' Sam smiled slightly at the comment, but it quickly disappeared as she continued to listen to the phone call, despite only being able to hear one side of it.

'The general thought you might say that, and he said to tell you to come anyway. It doesn't sound like it's going to go very long, maybe forty-five minutes…'

'Forty-five minutes!'

'Jack, we're gonna have to be debriefed sometime, and don't you think it's better for it to happen now rather than when things are…harder to cope with?' Jack sat in silence for a moment, contemplating both what Daniel had said and what he had insinuated. He glanced down at Carter's face, and when he made eye-contact, she nodded dully, mouthing the word 'Go'. Sighing, Jack returned to his conversation with Daniel.

'Alright, Daniel, I'll be up as soon as I can be.'

'Thanks, Jack.'

'Yeah, whatever.' Jack promptly hung up, slamming the receiver as loud as he dared with the chief medical officer beside him.

'It would seem I have a briefing I need to attend. I'd much prefer to stay here, but I have the strangest suspicion General Hammond wouldn't be too happy about it…' Sam didn't even visibly react; she just continued to stare at her hands with slightly glistening eyes. Jack cleared his throat uncomfortably, before getting to his feet.

'Well, I'll…I'll see you soon, Carter.' Receiving no more response than before from his second-in-command, Jack hovered for a moment before heading to the infirmary door. As he exited, he heard the phone ring once more. He paused near the newly-erected Perspex wall, waiting to see if it was Daniel or Teal'c calling for him. From the suddenly sweetened tone in Janet's voice, Jack gathered that it was Daniel on the other end of the line, but Janet showed no intentions of handing the phone over. After a few moments conversation, Janet hung up and joined Jack at the door.

'It seems that General Hammond wants me at the briefing too.' Jack merely nodded, and turned to the door once more. Once outside the quarantine area, he yanked off the surgical mask and threw it in one of the large bins alongside the doorway. Waiting for Janet to do the same, Jack took one last glance at Sam, who still hadn't moved since she had nodded at him a few minutes before. Concern and an unidentifiable feeling of foreboding washed over Jack, but he hesitantly turned away from Sam and into the hallway and began to make his way to the briefing.

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**Tada!!! i hope you liked it :)**

**i hope all you long-time readers still remember those symptoms i listed in the last chapter (kudos to you if you do, feel free to go back and check if you don't)**

**they are going to be kinda important for next chapter (or otherwise certain female majors are going to be acting in ways that will make you go "what the???")**

**any plot suggestions are welcome, and appreciated**

**if i like it, it will probably end up in here somewhere (like the dan/jan bit, i wasn't planning on putting that in here but because someone suggested it...hello dan/jan ship!)**

**thanks again for reading, and thanks in advance for any reviews you may write :)**

**xedwardismyromeox**


	7. Delusions

**Here we go again...Chapter 7, everyone!!!**

**my review supply is running kinda low, i think i only got ONE solitary review for my last chapter!!! i mean, i dont want to sound whiny or anything, but ive seen stories that have literally hundreds of reviews, so i think that after 7 chapters i'd like a few more than 22...is that all fair and reasonable??? (urgh, see what you've reduced me too? im QUOTING MY ART TEACHER!!!)**

**anywho, id like to thank those of you who have reviewed, i appreciate it soo much :)**

**as always, i dont own sg1, just my plot :)**

**Happy Reading!**

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Jack sat restlessly in the briefing room, clicking the pen in his hand so quickly that it sounded almost like one continuous sound. One continuous sound that Teal'c seemed to find extremely irritating, for after a few minutes of awkward silence other than the clicking he promptly took it out of Jack's hands and snapped it in half.

'Your inked inscription device appears to have malfunctioned, O'Neill.' Daniel let out a cough that sounded suspiciously like a laugh, and Janet hid a surreptitious smile with her hand. Jack glared at Teal'c for a moment, but seemed to notice that he was definitely going to lose any staring competition he may enter into with Teal'c, so he merely snatched the two halves of the pen back and began to twirl one half in his fingers. Now satisfied that Jack's method of fidgeting was not going to create irksome sounds, Teal'c relaxed back into his chair to await the arrival of General Hammond

Jack, Teal'c Daniel and Janet sat in silence for a few minutes more, before General Hammond opened his office door and joined them at the table, carrying an armful of yellow manila folders in his hands. As he sat down he slid four of these folders at each person at the table, keeping one for himself. Expecting to see the standard debrief folder before him, Jack was surprised when he saw the words TOP SECRET stamped across the top of the folder in bright red ink. Flipping open the folder, he saw a report of a very different format to the normal debriefing sheet.

'General, aren't we being debriefed?'

'Yes, but in conjunction with a briefing about the NID.'

'You know about that?'

'Yes, colonel, I do know. I am in charge around here, after all.' General Hammond's voice was tainted with mirth, and his eyes were twinkling mischievously. If it was anyone else, Jack would have shot back any number of witty, if not slightly rude, comebacks but seeing as he was addressing his superior, he bit back his retorts and replaced them with a question.

'So what are we going to do about it, sir?' At the question, General Hammond flipped open his folder and looked down at the information there.

'It has been decided that we are to send Daniel and Teal'c to Washington. Once there, you two will go and…negotiate with the NID to get the medicine here as soon as possible.'

'What do you mean by "negotiate"?'

'Well, lets just say that we do not want you coming home empty handed, and you are authorised to do anything to make sure that that is the case.' Teal'c gave a stoic nod, and Daniel, although he didn't look overjoyed about his new mission, also nodded his consent.

'But before I really go into that, I think we should start with the debriefing. Colonel, would you like to explain what happened?' Inwardly cursing the General for picking him out of all his team members, Jack cleared his throat and began to explain.

'When we arrived at the planet, we noticed that the streets were unnaturally deserted of people and were overrun with rodents. We were making our way along the route designated during our briefing before the mission, when we were interrupted by a little boy. He asked for our help with his parents, who were sick. Not getting very much detail about what the illness was, both Carter and I thought that we may as well see what was wrong, and if we could help at all. When we got there, Carter went over to examine the parents…' Jack trailed off, not sure how to continue, or whether or not he would be able to. Noticing his friend's distress, Teal'c stepped in.

'Major Carter examined the two parents when we arrived at the dwelling of the child. She first deduced that the mother was no longer alive, before examining the father. As she was conducting her assessment of his health, he beseeched her to leave. Not understanding why, the father showed her the buboes on his body, which Major Carter immediately recognised. After this, we abandoned the mission and returned to Earth as soon as we could.'

General Hammond nodded, and turned to Daniel.

'To me this sounds very similar to the Plague experienced by medieval Europe. Would I be right in making this assumption, Doctor Jackson?'

'Both the culture of the planet and the disease are very similar to that of medieval England circa the 1300s, down to minute details such as the red crosses on the doors of infected homes. Whether or not the disease is exactly the same as the ones found on Earth, I couldn't tell you…' Daniel looked at Janet, inviting her to continue.

'The tests that we are conducting on the bacteria that we found in Sam's blood are still inconclusive, but at this point, I'm sorry to report that it looks as though it may be a mutation of the disease.'

An uneasy silence overcame the room for a moment while everyone else digested this unwelcome turn of events, before General Hammond recomposed himself.

'How is it mutated?'

'Well, as I said, the tests are not as yet conclusive, so we'll need to wait for them to be finished to be sure. It could be anything really, from two combined forms of the plague, to an amalgamation of the plague and another disease we haven't encountered before. Over time the plague bacteria may have fused with other microbes of…'

Janet continued to talk, but Jack stopped listening after the first couple of words of her medical jargon. He quietly rose from his seat and made his way over to the water jug that was sitting next to the coffee dispenser against the back wall of the room. Filling a plastic cup with the cool liquid, he moved over to the large glass window overlooking the gate room. He stared down at the gate for a moment, before noticing something was amiss. No security guards were in the room, but the gate was beginning to activate.

Normally there were at least two SFs in the gateroom at all times, but it was written protocol that there must be at least four if the gate was activating. Jack frowned, also realising that General Hammond wouldn't have scheduled a briefing at the same time as an off-world departure. Behind him, Janet had stopped speaking, and all of the other people in the briefing room were looking curiously out towards the gate.

'There aren't any scheduled missions on at the moment, General, are there?'

'No, there aren't Doctor Jackson.'

'Then why is the gate being dialled?'

'I have no idea…' General Hammond moved swiftly into his office and called down to the gate room, trying to contact someone who might know what was going on. As it rang, the gate spun smoothly around towards its second symbol. The phone was suddenly picked up, and all General Hammond could hear at the other end of the line was ragged breathing intermingled with gentle sobs.

'Who is this?'

'I'm…I'm so sorry, General, but this is what I have to do. Tell my dad I love him…and tell my team that...that they mean more to me than they could ever know.' Promptly the voice hung up, leaving the line silent except for the dial tone. General Hammond ran back into the briefing room, where all of the people being briefed were now looking out the window to the gate room with concern.

'Who was it, General?'

'I…I think it was Major Carter.'

'What? But she's supposed to be down in my infirmary, under medical lockdown…' Janet trailed off as she saw the blast doors slide open and Major Carter stumble through. She shut the door immediately after she entered, before slowly making her way up to the gate ramp. The fifth symbol on the gate was lighting up.

'What the hell is she doing?' Jack stared down at Sam confusedly, but his head snapped up when he heard Janet gasp.

'What?'

'The Plague- it can make people delusional. She has been showing symptoms of depression over the last few days, and if she has convinced herself that since she doesn't have any medicine coming here way…' Horrified understanding flooded each of the men's minds: Sam was trying to kill herself in the least horrific way she could think of, in the energy vortex created by activating the Stargate.

Jack bolted down the stairs, with all the other occupants of the briefing room not far behind him. They reached the control room, seeing the reason why no one had stopped Sam so far. All the technical staff lay unconscious near the back wall, and the gate room SFs lay in a clump near the dialling computer. A zat gun lay discarded on the floor near the stairs that lead down to the gate room, still left in its activated form. Jack bolted past the scene, barely recognising it in his haste to reach his suicidal Major. Yanking his card from his belt, he swiped it through the sensor, and the door began to open painfully slowly. As soon as there was a large enough gap, Jack shoved himself through the opening and into the gate room.

His stomach dropped as he saw the final symbol almost in place, and as he saw Sam standing near the top of the ramp, looking over to him. She was freely crying, but her feet were planted firmly in place on the ramp. The final symbol began to glow, and Jack made a bolt for Sam. The last symbol locked just as he reached the bottom of the ramp, and as the wormhole activated, Jack made a dive for Sam. Knocking her off her feet, Jack landed protectively atop his Major, trying to block out both the cries of pain coming from the woman in his arms and the throbbing pain which sang out from his knees. Just as he landed, the wormhole activated and the vortex flew forcefully out over their heads. Jack desperately ducked his head, covering as much of Sam as he possibly could. He felt the vortex retract and reform as the rippling event horizon, but he still lay protectively over Sam. They stayed perfectly still for a single moment, looking into each others eyes. Then Sam burst into tears, burying her face into Jack's chest.

Pushing Sam and himself upright, Jack pulled his Major onto his lap, cuddling her close to his chest with his arms wrapped tightly around her. Sam's arms were wrapped just as forcefully around him, making it impossible to let go of her, even if he had wanted to. Her body shuddered in his arms, both from the despair she felt and the automatic shock her body was going into. Jack's grip on Sam tightened, holding her as close to him as he possibly could. Officers, scientists and doctors alike were streaming into the gate room, and the gate was deactivated behind them, but Sam and Jack were oblivious to everything but each other. The people around them quietened, until the only sound to be heard was the ragged breathing of Sam, and the murmured comforts flowing out of Jack's lips.

Soon the quiet became awkward to everyone but the pair still sitting on the gate ramp, and after a meaningful glance from Janet, Daniel approached Sam and Jack. He cleared his throat loudly. He got no response. He glanced back at Janet with a mildly desperate look on his face, not sure what to try next. She shrugged, and then mimed poking someone on the shoulder. Daniel turned back and attempted Janet's suggestion, and received no more of a response than with his first attempt. With an exasperated sigh Janet walked over to the group, gently pushing Daniel out of her way. She bobbed down next to Sam, and placed a gentle arm around her shoulder.

'Sam, honey? You're gonna need to get up; we need to get you back to the infirmary.' Sam slowly looked up and then nodded. Jack immediately helped her to her feet, even offering Janet a hand to get her back upright. The trio walked down the ramp, leaving a slightly stunned Daniel on the ramp. Janet shot a smug smile over her shoulder at her partner, before quickening her pace to keep up with the couple before her. Just as she reached the door, she turned back to the room, her eyes searching for General Hammond.

'Sir, would you mind calling over the intercom for people to evacuate the halls between here and the infirmary? I'd prefer not to risk anyone else's health until I've had a chance to vaccinate the entire staff.'

'Of course, Doctor.' The three paused at the door as the General made his way swiftly over to the intercom system on the wall and made his announcement. Just before they left the room, Janet extracted a surgical mask from her pocket and gave it to Sam. The woman stared at it for a moment, before looking up at Janet with dubious expression on her pale, worn face. Janet gave her an apologetic smile.

'Sorry, just in case?' Janet turned her instruction into a question, trying to make Sam feel a little more in control of the situation, which she hoped might make her more likely to do as she was asked. With a small sigh, Sam tugged the mask over her mouth and walked out the door.

'Carter, you sure you're right to walk by yourself?' The look Sam gave Jack would have caused a weaker man to run in the opposite direction, even in her severely weakened state.

'Just because I've got the Plague,_ sir_, doesn't mean I can't walk by myself.' The tone of her voice made Jack believe every word that she said until, after a couple of strides, her legs wobbled dangerously underneath her, causing her to stumble sideways into the wall.

'Whoa…trippy…' she muttered under her breath as her two companions dashed to her side. Jack wordlessly snaked his arm around Sam's back, taking most of her weight, and helping her down the hallway. He could feel the large lumps that were the buboes through the thin hospital gown that she was wearing, and it took all his effort not to shudder and the sensation. A moment later, he remembered hearing about how tender the buboes were supposed to be, and noticed how painful this position must be for the woman beside him. A quick glance at the grimace now tweaking Sam's features confirmed his suspicions. He promptly stopped walking, and without even bothering to get permission, scooped the slight form of his Major into his arms, ignoring the protests of his knees. She gasped a little from the unexpected movement, and the sudden intake of breath made her start to cough. Jack continued to walk, holding her tightly as she convulsed in his arms.

Both Janet and Jack could hear the liquidy edge to her cough, and this made the Doctor look even grimmer. Jack noticed, but chose not to mention it in Sam's presence. As they entered the elevator, Sam finally stopped coughing, and sank exhaustedly into Jack's arms. Resting her head against his chest, Sam's eyes fluttered closed, and within moments she was asleep.

Janet leaned over and pulled the mask off Sam's face to let her breath easier, and gasped when she saw the fine spattering of bloody sputum staining the inside of the mask. She searched in her pocket for a moment, before pulling out a small yellow plastic bag with the contaminated materials label stamped on its side. She dropped the mask in there and sealed it tightly, ready to be disposed of once back in the infirmary.

Jack walked quickly but gently back to the medical centre with Janet close behind, walking straight past the nurse at the desk near the door and putting Sam straight back into her bed. Pulling the blankets up over her, Jack gazed down at the pale face of his sick Major. It was slowly but surely tearing his heart apart, watching Sam go through this. He gently stroked the back of her hand, swallowing hard to stop the tears he felt in his eyes from falling.

As a single tear slid down his cheek and fell onto the soft skin of her hand, Jack made a fierce promise to himself: that he would do everything in his power to stop this from happening, whatever it took. With a final glance at Sam's unconscious face, Jack turned back to the exit, his face set and stern and with no signs of the tears he had just shed. He was the tough-as-nails military Colonel Jack O'Neill once more, and he was on a mission to save his Sam.

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**I hope you liked it :)**

**was it too over the top???i couldn't tell... was it realistic?**

**id like to hear your thoughts/likes/dislikes/typos i may have missed/ANYTHING AT ALL :)**

**please review, by now you should know how much i love it :P**


	8. Discussions

**IM SO SORRY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! PLEASE DONT KILL ME (FALLS TO KNEES AND BEGS)**

**I really didnt mean to keep you waiting this long, but i got some serious writer's block near the middle of the chapter and i didnt know what to do!!!!!!!!!!!!!**

**but then i got some inspiration and figured out what to do :)**

**thanks so much everyone who reviewed last chapter, such an upgrade from the solitary 1 review i got for chapter 6!!!!**

**much appreciated :D**

**as always, i dont own sg1/stargate anything, merely my little plot here **

**happy reading!**

Jack walked out of the quarantine area of the infirmary to find Janet having a whispered yet heated argument with the nurse at the door.

'…the hell did this happen?'

'I don't know, Doctor, I've only just come on duty…'

'Well, who was supposed to be here?'

'I don't know, I'd have to check the roster…' with a frustrated sigh, Janet turned away from the woman and rounded on the SF by the door.

'What about you? Why in god's name did you let her past?'

'She said that she just wanted to stretch her legs, and that you had given her permission to go out of the infirmary is she stayed on this floor, so I let her out. Once she was past me, she turned around and tackled me, stealing my Zat and running for the elevator.'

'Why didn't you contact anyone?' Janet's voice had steadily been getting louder and louder as she questioned the man, until she was basically shouting at him.

'I tried- she had disabled all the phones in the immediate area…'

'Are you kidding me? If you expect me to believe that she would be able…' Janet cut off when she heard a voice quietly call out from behind her.

'Actually, I can. I did it with my computer. I made a virus which I programmed into the closed circuit phone lines and intercoms for all the floors between 15 and 27.'

There was a stunned silence for a moment as everyone looked over to the apparently helpless woman lying in the bed in quarantine, and Jack swore he saw Sam smile. A moment later, Janet turned back to the SF at the door, slightly calmer than before.

'Sorry, I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions like that. What happened next?'

'I tried to call people over both the phone lines and the intercom, and after they were both unsuccessful, I tried to go to another floor. The elevator was out of service, which I'm guessing was another virus?' Everyone looked over to Sam, who nodded in confirmation.

'I made it impossible for the elevator to travel up floors for a period of half an hour, so I could go down to the gate room but no one could call the elevator back up so they could come and stop me.'

'You really did think of everything, didn't you, Carter?'

'If I had, I'd be happily dead right now. I didn't know there was a briefing on today, or else I would have closed all the blast doors over the windows so you couldn't see.' The joking air in which Jack had made the comment evaporated in an instant, and Jack felt his stomach drop at the blunt comments. Somehow, he had deluded himself into thinking that, merely because he had rescued her, Sam was somehow going to want to live once more. Janet placed a consoling hand on Jack's arm.

'Don't worry, Colonel, it's merely the effects of the disease taking hold. Once we have her re-connected to a drip, I'll give her an antidepressant, which should get rid of these suicidal notions of hers.' Slightly comforted by this, Jack glanced at his watch.

'We should probably get back to the briefing room- Hammond and the others will want to know what happened…' as if right on cue, Daniel and Teal'c appeared at the door, their concern obvious on their faces.

'How's she doing?'

'Alright, I guess. She certainly hasn't been dumbed down by this disease.'

At Teal'c and Daniel's confused looks, Jack explained the viruses that Sam had created to ensure her trip to the gateroom went undetected. Daniel let out a low whistle, and Teal'c nodded once.

'It is hard to expect less from Major Carter.' Janet opened her mouth to speak, but Jack cut her off.

'Let me guess, doctor. You need us to vacate the room and stop aggravating your patient so you can put her on a drip to make her go back to normal.' Janet smiled and nodded apologetically.

'Sorry, guys, but you probably need to get back to General Hammond anyway and finish that briefing.' The men nodded and made to leave, but just before they got out the door, Jack turned back.

'Oh, and Doctor? Make sure you keep Carter away from any computers from now on. We'll get the General to send up some more SFs to help with security.' Janet nodded before returning to her patient. Jack chanced a glance after her towards Sam, but his stomach dropped once more when he saw she hadn't moved since he had put her down on the bed, merely staring at the ceiling directly above her. With a disheartened sigh, he walked out of the room with Daniel and Teal'c and into the elevator.

The elevator doors slid smoothly open, revealing the unusually barren hallway that led to the gate room. The three men walked silently down the hall and up into the control room, which was now devoid of the unconscious scientists and militia that were lying there before. The only person in the room was Walter, who was typing into one of the control panels near the dialling computer. He looked up briefly, giving the team a sympathetic smile, before retuning to his work. The men paused a moment, gazing silently out the thick glass into the gateroom, to the spot where Sam's life very nearly came to an end. Shaking off an inexplicable feeling of unease, Jack lead his team up the metal staircase and back up to the briefing room, where they could see General Hammond talking on his red phone, doubtlessly with the President. The three men sat back down at the briefing table, silently contemplating what had just happened.

Teal'c pulled one of the discarded mission reports across the table and began to leaf through the pages, reading the information that he would be required to know for his new mission to Washington. Daniel followed suit, reading his own copy of the report with a dissatisfied expression on his face. For something to do, Jack pulled the report towards him as well and flicked open the file. Reading what was written there, he began to understand why Daniel wasn't happy with what he was supposed to do. Always preferring to be the negotiator, Daniel was way out of his element with the tasks he had been assigned. The report all but told them to break into the NID and steal the medicine if they refused to cooperate, without worrying about consequences.

Jack was beginning to wonder why he wasn't going instead of Daniel when General Hammond seemed to finish up his conversation, hung up, and made his way back in to the briefing room. He sat down with a sigh at the head of the briefing table, running a hand over his sleek head.

'I've had the blast doors to the gate room manually sealed by the maintenance staff until further notice. There isn't anyone off world currently, and we've sent a request to our allies for them not to travel to Earth until we have this situation back under control. We do not want something like this happening again.'

Although Jack doubted that Sam would reattempt something like that any time soon, especially now that she was being put on the anti-depressants, he was still deeply grateful for General Hammond's gesture. The General reached out for his copy of the mission report and opened it up, glancing over the material there once more. Directing himself towards Daniel and Teal'c, he opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off by Jack.

'General, what I really don't understand is why Daniel gets to go and I don't. You know Daniel, sir, and he's really the type to negotiate, not the type to steal. With all due respect, sir, I'd think my special ops training would put me in a better position to go than our good archaeologist over here.'

General Hammond sat, contemplating the men before him for a moment. The real reason he had not put Jack on the team was that he had though he would appreciate being able to stay with Major Carter, but after seeing this reaction he obviously wasn't as concerned about that as he had thought.

'Well, Colonel, if you would really like to join the others…'

'I'm afraid, General, that won't be possible.'

The five men turned their heads to the source of the sound to see Doctor Fraiser standing at the top of the stairs from the control room. At General Hammond's gesture, Janet walked into the room and sat down in the chair next to Daniel. A fleeting realisation of this crossed Jack's mind and made him internally smirk, but he quickly pushed that aside so he could concentrate on why he wasn't allowed to go on this mission.

'What's the problem, Doc?' Janet sighed and stared at the papers before her, not seeming to be able to sum up the energy to say what it was she had come to tell.

'Doctor Fraiser?' Still no response.

'Janet?' At the sound of Daniel's voice Janet looked up, and after the reassuring look he sent her way, she seemed to be able to say what she had come to say.

'Colonel, our tests have finally come back from the lab with 100% conclusive results…and they say that everyone is in the clear, except…except they are saying that you show signs of the bacteria in your system.'

Silence reigned the room for a moment, no one was sure what to say, or if they had indeed heard Janet correctly.

'Wait, what?'

'Your blood tests have come back, and they say that you have the Plague too.'

Jack sat in silence, not sure what to make of the new information. He felt numb, not sure how he was supposed to feel. He knew something along the lines of grief was normal, but he was as of yet completely devoid of any emotion. In his silent thought, he heard someone begin to question Janet about the news.

'But what about that vaccine?'

'The bacteria must have been in the body's system before I administered the drug.'

'Why's it taken so long to…?'

'I honestly don't. I'm afraid to report that we have confirmed that this is a new strain of the Plague, it would seem a mixture between the three different types of the Plague that we have here. Because of this, I have no idea how it progresses, or how long we have to find a drug to fix this thing…Colonel, are you listening?'

'What?' Janet empathised with the man; she knew what he was going through, she'd seen plenty of others go through it before him, and knew that there was little to no point repeating herself.

'We'll need to take you up to the new quarantine room- we've finally been able to set up the new isolation chamber from Washington and were just about to send Major Carter there as well.'

'Yeah, sure, you betcha…'

Jack hauled himself to his feet, and followed Janet out the door, leaving three very concerned men behind.

'How did that happen? I thought we had it under control…'

'I believe Doctor Fraiser mentioned that O'Neill had the bacteria within his body before he was administered the vaccine.'

'But aren't we all in danger again…?'

'I do not believe so. If he had the bacteria within him before being vaccinated, the medication would have done nothing. Seeing as none of you had the bacteria before being vaccinated, you should not be in any danger.'

The three men were silent for a moment, before General Hammond cleared his throat and looked back down at the papers before him.

'Well, it seems that we are even more desperate for this medication than before, so I think we're going to have to send you off earlier than planned. I can have a plane ready to go in a couple of hours…' General Hammond paused in his speech when he saw the other two men with him jump to their feet, their eyes trailed on someone entering the room from the door behind him. He turned around, and felt a boiling anger at the sight of the person before him.

'What the hell are you doing here?'

'I heard that there was something wrong with Major Carter?'

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